Finding Love....In Cyberspace???

Can you really fall in love in cyberspace?

The answer is yes! Suprisingly... According to Second Life characters Modesty McDonnell and Dave Barmy it was love at first sight. But first of all, what is second life?

Meanwhile...

Amy Pollard

Back in real life, the disintegration of  the marriage of the 'real' Dave Barmy aka David Pollard and Amy Pollard was occuring. Confirming the end of their so-called love it was not only enough for Amy to be divorced in First Life, but also Second Life. It may not be a happy ending for Amy and David, but in Second Life Dave and his love affair Modesty McDonnel are married, and will soon make it official in Second Life.

David believed that there were problems with his marriage to Amy. According to him, she never did anything around the house, all she wanted to do was saty on her computer and play games. I think all three of these individuals need to get off the computer, and do things in 'First Life'.

   

David Pollard

Modesty McDonnel aka Linda Brinkley

  The love triangle of Amy, David and Linda aren't the only love stories coming out of Second Life. For Rhonda Lillie and Paul Hawkins they have found what they have been looking for.It all began four years ago atop a virtual waterfall overlooking a lush green valley, the likes that can only be found in Second Life. After just three weeks of constantly messaging one another over the net, they sealed the deal with a Second Life marriage. This was all done without ever even verbally speaking to one another!! For the couple, this is a fairytale come true. Both divorced with children in Real Life, neither of them thought that finding one another was possible, and even though they are oceans away from each other they believe that they have a strong bond.

On thr right the Real Life couple, on the left, their Second Life avatars.

Finding love via the net seems to be a growing trend, according to a 2006 Pew survey, one in 10 Internet users already search for love online, and 15 percent of American adults say they know someone who married or seriously dated an online match. However, some people have a different opinion...Psychologists say people use avatars to explore sides of themselves they aren't ready to share with the real world. Often, the lure is wish fulfillment.

 Finding love in Second Life, appears to be easy. The above couple a perfect example, his avatar looked interesting, so she instigated a conversation. However, you don't have to do it this way. On the Second Life website, residents can put posts up in forums asking for people to be friends with them, or to even have a casual relationship, and Mysteekmeg, did just that.


I don't know about how anyone else if feeling about moving your life into the virtual world. However, I don't want to spend the majority of my day on the net. What is going to happen with your Real Life relationships? I'm not just talking about an intimate one, but what about your family? How will this affect your way of interacting with actual people? I want to be able to talk face-to-face to people I think are important in my life, and help shape who I am. How are we going to develop as people when everything is on the net?



References:

Bennet, J 2009 'AGeek Love Story' The Daily Beast
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/04/13/a-geek-love-story.html>

 'Revealed: The 'other woman' in Second Life divorce...who's now engaged to the web cheat she's never met' The Mail Online, viewed 20th May 2012
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1085412/Revealed-The-woman-Second-Life-divorce--whos-engaged-web-cheat-shes-met.html> 


<http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Lifestyles-and-Relationships/New-And-Looking-For-Relationships/td-p/1526405>